2.29.2020

Hopefully you used your extra day this year for something fun!  

It was fun to watch Jim continue to make my upper pantry cabinet.  He is glueing up pieces for the bottom of the cabinet... 

Then he cut pieces for the doors...

And got them sized and milled!  These are going to look so good!

Doing the millwork on the door panels...

Looking great!

Off to church...

High 23/Low 8

This is us - we aren't quite ready for February and winter to be over!

2.28.2020

After our design discussions and trial side pieces, Jim basically started over.  You can see the difference in the two side rail pieces - the original was the thinner, smaller rail - the new one is thicker stock as well as bigger.  I wanted a 16" cabinet (sorry, dear!) so this will accomplish that.

Putting the side piece together to see how it looks - which is fabulous!  He had more styles and panels cut but needs more wood for the rails.

This is a complicated cabinet and going to be constructed differently than the other ones so Jim spent time just trying to figure out some details and how to proceed.

He also spent more time prepping wood.

It's been extremely windy the last day - thankfully the power stayed on for us but it made it feel very cold outside.

High 28/Low 16

2.27.2020

That is a lot to celebrate for one day!  We decided to go with National Pancake Day - any excuse for breakfast for dinner is good with us, so it is cornmeal pancakes tonight.

Down in the shop, Jim worked on making the beginnings of the next cabinet...

This is going to be a tall cabinet - it will go from the countertop up to the ceiling.

Doing the millwork on the back of the panel...

We're still deciding on design details - we may have space for wine bottles in between these two cabinets.  I'm really excited about the way this will look!

Prepping more wood with the jointer.  Jim is about out of maple and will have to make a trip down to Ghent this coming week if the weather allows.

Of course, there's always something to fix and maintain.  The treadmill was making some noises - by listening, Jim thought it was a loose bolt.  Today he put it on its side to investigate - it was indeed a loose bolt so he tightened that and did a good vacuuming of the underneath.

Besides a few flurries, we didn't get the snow they originally forecast.  However, we are under a high wind alert as cold air makes its way in.  Good for celebrating Polar Bear Day but hopefully the power will stay on!

High 34/Low 19

2.26.2020

Jim worked today on prepping wood for the next cabinet.  He's going to build the upper pantry cabinet next and we spent a good deal of time talking about design so he could at least get some wood going even though he doesn't have exact construction drawings done yet.  You can see cut pieces on the workbench and then he is starting to plane them...

Jim had to devote some time today to machine maintenance - he will be using the jointer more for this next cabinet so he had to take it apart and make sure things were clean and aligned.

An early end to the day - we have Ash Wednesday services tonight.

High 36/Low 33

2.25.2020

Jim had to start his day with a visit to the eye doctor for his routine checkup.  Thankfully, his eye pressure was good and all the tests came out fine.  So grateful for all the good news!

Today was the day to install the last piece of Corian countertop on this section of counters!  First, Jim brought up a scrap piece of Corian just to see how much he needed to adjust the stove height.

Adjusting the stove's feet...

Then bringing up the Corian...

Being careful not to hit all the obstacles in the way!

Setting it in place...

So beautiful!

Jim had purposely left the first section of countertop a bit too long in case he needed some wiggle room.  So we carried it back down to the shop where he trimmed it just a tad...

Then we brought it back up and put it in place...

How gorgeous is this?  I absolutely love it!

Jim had to spend a good chunk of time cleaning up the shop after the Corian work.  There were plastic shavings all over the shop and attached to everything in it!  He had to use the vacuum to get most of it.

Then it was time to think about the next cabinet!  He started glueing up some wood...

Sanding up more window molding...

Doing some staining...

High 44/Low 30

2.24.2020

Today was all about the next Corian countertop piece!  This morning, Jim took all the clamps off the edge pieces and cleaned up the glue...

Setting up his straight edge so that he can use that as a guide to make a straight cut along the front...

I had to go to Saratoga for some errands, so Jim took this selfie showing how all the Corian shavings transformed him into a Yeti!  These shavings are so full of static that they stick to everything - that's the router underneath.

But now he has a perfectly straight front edge to work with...

Making the first cove cut...

Starting to make the round over...

The top half is all done and looking good!

Time to flip it over and do the round over from the other side...

Edge work is all done!

And a big pile of shavings to show for it!

Doing the finish work...

It's all done and absolutely gorgeous!  I can't wait to see it in the kitchen - tomorrow!

Jim is always calling me the papparazi because he says every time he turns around, I'm taking his picture...

 So today was my turn.  Once I got home from my errands, I was putting my kitchen to good use - I made rolls, pasta and then vegetable lasagna.  After all, Fat Tuesday is tomorrow so we're practicing!

High 52/Low 31